The Nets and Celtics had agreed last month to the framework of a trade that involved Paul Pierce, but not Kevin Garnett, writes Howard Beck of The New York Times. Then, Brooklyn GM Billy King asked Boston counterpart Danny Ainge whether Garnett would be available, too, and the deal began to morph into the nine-player swap that was finalized today. Here's more on an ever-changing NBA landscape:

According to Sam Amick of USA Today (via Twitter), it's worth keeping an eye on Jordanian forward Zaid Abbas, who may be NBA-bound next month. Amick adds in a second tweet that Abbas is holding off on signing with a Chinese team due to optimism about potential NBA workouts in August.

The Rockets hold the rights to Kostas Papanikolaou after acquiring him as part of the Thomas Robinsontrade, but the Bucks are among other NBA teams with interest in the 6'9" Greek small forward who "definitely" wants to play in the NBA this season, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times (Twitter link).